How did Mandy get interested in science? How can you tell the difference between butterflies and moths? What does an atom look like? Why can't you go to the beach when there is lightning and thunder? How do pinecones end up on the ground? Why is a piece of wood from millions of years ago so heavy? These questions and more are answered by the little scientist, Mandy, one of the dolls who lives in a house with two old people. The dolls come to life in photos taken of them in their home and in the surrounding outdoors. Each story has a reader's challenge to give you something to think about or discuss. The book grows with the child, being of interest to toddlers who look at the photos while being read to or older children as they learn to reflect on the world in which they live.
Stories included are:
"Mandy Loves Science," an introduction. Veronika explains to three younger dolls how Mandy became interested in science and why she knows so much about the world.
In "On the Wing," Charlotte and Jolena see a flying insect and don't know whether it's a butterfly or a moth.
In "Too Tiny To See," Emil finds Billy trying to see atoms in a piece of paper using a magnifying glass. They go looking for Mandy to find out why it isn't working.
In "Lightning," Pippa and Mandy are all ready to go to the beach, when they discover it's raining, with lightning and thunder. Pippa is disappointed to find out they can't go after all and is frightened by the sudden bright light.
In "Ups and Downs," the dolls go out to the woods to play with the frisbee and notice pine cones on the ground. That leads to a discussion of how they got there and what pine cones are for.
In "Petrified!" Pippa wonders why the piece of wood The Writer uses for a doorstop is so heavy. Emil wants to know, too. Mandy explains how wood millions of years old got to be so heavy, what the rings in the wood tell us and why it can look as if someone could have cut the tree down with a saw...but they didn't.
Realistic-looking dolls made by Götz Puppenmanufaktur are the characters these and other stories bring to life.